Formed to the Word Image #2
The Word Separator
Brian Kocourek
The Last Sunday I spoke to
you was August 19th before I left for Peru. And let me say the meetings
down there were wonderful. Those people traveled some for 7 hours by bus and
others for 2 days by bus to get there, to receive what you get every Wednesday
night in our Bible Doctrine studies. When I see the hunger in their souls, it
makes me realize how much the American Church has taken for granted.
From the message, Scriptural Signs of the Time
64-0410 E-65Brother
Branham said,
Friends, you know what's the matter with the Pentecostal people? They've
seen too much. An old salt, one day, was coming from the sea, and he found a
writer going to the sea. And the old salt said to the--to the writer, said,
"Where goest thou, my good man?" Said, "Down to the sea. Oh, I
want to smell its salty brines. I want to see its blue skies, the white clouds,
the sea gulls." He said, "I was borned on it fifty years ago. I don't
see nothing so attractive about it." That's it. He'd seen so much of it,
till it become common. That's what's the matter with us, people. We've seen so
much of God. This church that has been called out of the denominational groups
in the last days has seen so much of it, until it's become so common you just
overlook it. Don't never let Christ become common to you, friend. Don't never
do that. You just believe with all your heart and all that's in you. Now, have
faith in God. Now, just pray, and let the Lord Jesus grant it.
What you receive on
Wednesday night Bible study, brethren are willing to climb mountains, &
cross desserts to hear, because they know it will bring them Eternal Life.
Now, August 22nd, we spoke
on the thought that brother Branham laid out for us when he spoke on our being
formed to the Word image. In paragraph 78 of Who
is This Melchisedec, he said, Here
we are formed to the Word image to be a partaker of the Word, feed on the Word,
by being predestinated since the beginning.
The Apostle Paul taught also in II
CORINTHIANS 5:1 ¶ For we know that if our
earthly house of [this] tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God,
an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
And in GALATIANS 4:19 he
said, ¶ My little children, of whom I travail in
birth again until Christ be formed (morphed) in you,
In ROMANS 8:28 And we know that all things
work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called
according to [his] purpose. 29 ¶ For
whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate [to be] conformed (summorphos, fashioned
like unto) to the
image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30
Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called,
them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. 31
¶ What shall we then say to these
things? If God [be] for us, who [can be] against us?
In ROMANS 12:1 we see
the process God uses to bring this formation of Christ in us. Remember, "in the beginning was the
Word,"
God Himself. And the Word, God Himself became flesh in His Son as He indwelt
that Son, and Paul tells us we are to be transformed into the same image and he
tells us how this transformation takes place.
Romans 12:1 ¶ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is]
your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed
(Metamorphoo,
changed) by the
renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable,
and perfect, will of God.
TRYING TO DO GOD A SERVICE 65-1127B
335 God stirs His Spirit. He stirs It right into His
Word to make It live. And if you were ordained from the beginning of the earth
to that Word, every Word will come right on top of the Word. Like a human cell
will not have one human cell, and the next the cell of a dog, and the next the
cell of a cat; it'll be human cells. But it's got to have a cell first to start
with. Is that right? say, "Amen." Well, if it is the Word cell to
start with, the other Word cells are ordained to make it a full body.
ON THE WINGS OF A DOVE 65-1128E
73 Now, what God is showing him here is this:
on these sacrifices is speaking of Christ; that how God took Jesus to the
Calvary and tore Him apart, and received the body up into heaven, and sent the
Spirit down upon us, that the same Spirit was on Him has to be on you to dovetail
with the Body, to be the Bride at the end time. See, see? That's right. See?
Won't be a denomination now, It'll be the Word, what He was. See? But like that
Word has to come to Word, like cell in a human being. You know, when your
body's being built, it isn't one cell of a human, next of a dog, and next of a
pig. Oh, no, no. It's all human cell. That's the way the Body of Christ is,
all the Word of God, not just part of It, some tradition added to It; no,
It's all the Body of Christ.
Now, this morning I would like to continue with the next
paragraph of Brother Branham's sermon, where he explains the doctrine of the
transforming power of the Word, by using an illustration. Now, let me warn you before we read the next
paragraph, because it is a story that brother Branham is going to tell, and
Jesus warned us that God uses illustrations and stories to hide the word from
those who are not ordained to understand the doctrine. He said it is used to
blind the eyes of those who are not ordained to understand.
MATTHEW 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why
speakest thou unto them in parables? 11He answered and said unto them, Because
it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to
them it is not given. 12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he
shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away
even that he hath. 13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they
seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 14 And
in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall
hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not
perceive: 15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and [their] ears are dull
of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see
with [their] eyes, and hear with [their] ears, and should understand with
[their] heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 16 But blessed
[are] your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 17 For verily I
say unto you, That many prophets and righteous [men] have desired to see [those
things] which ye see, and have not seen [them]; and to hear [those things]
which ye hear, and have not heard [them].
Also we see him tell this in the gospel of Mark.
MARK 4:10 And when he was alone, they that were about him
with the twelve asked of him the parable. 11 And he said unto them, Unto you
it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are
without, all [these] things are done in parables: 12 That seeing they may
see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at
any time they should be converted, and [their] sins should be forgiven them.
Therefore,
the parable or story is given to bring manifestation to the doctrine, to clench
the nail so to speak, but if you have no doctrine, then it only confuses,
because with any story, you can gather any conclusion you want to from it,
depending on how you tell the story. Therefore,
before we read this story remember, he is illustrating the doctrinal point he
had just made which was, Here we are formed
to the Word image to be a partaker of the Word, feed on the Word, by being
predestinated since the beginning.
And now the story to illustrate this doctrine.
WHO IS THIS
MELCHISEDEC 65-0221E 81
The other night I was teaching somewhere; I believe it was out in
California, or Arizona, about... I believe I've told the little story here
about the man setting a hen and had a eagle egg under it. And when that eagle
hatched out, he was the funniest looking bird that them chickens ever seen. But
he walked around; he was the ugly one among them, because he just couldn't
understand how that hen will cluck and scratch on that manure pile and eat, and
he couldn't get the idea. She'd say, "Come on over and feast, honey."
Why, he was a eagle; he just didn't eat like that. It wasn't his food. So she'd
catch grasshoppers and what more, you know, and call the little chickens. And
all them little chickens would go along, cluck along, and eat. But the little
eagle just couldn't do it. It didn't look right to him.
83
So one day his mammy come hunting him. And he'd hear that hen cluck.
He'd tried his best to cluck, but he couldn't do it. He tried to cheep like a
chicken, but he couldn't do it. See, he was a eagle. He's... To start with he
was a eagle. He was just hatched under a hen. That's like some church
members. That's about the way it is; about one out of a setting is right.
But one day his mammy flew over and she screamed. He recognized it. "That
sounded right." Why? He was a eagle to begin with. (Now, watch here how brother
Branham will tie this story back into the doctrine he was bringing forth before
he began telling the story). He says, That's the
way it is with the Gospel of the Word, the power of Jesus Christ; when a man
has been predestinated to Eternal Life, he hears that true ring, scream of God,
nothing can keep him from it. The
church might say, "Days of miracles is past, cluck, cluck, cluck. Stand
here and eat this, and stand here and eat that." That barnyard stuff won't
do for him any more. He's gone. "All things are possible." He gets
off the ground. That's what's the matter with so many Christians today; they
can't get their feet off the ground. The old mammy said, "Son, jump;
you're an eagle. Come up here where I am." He said, "Mom, I never
jumped in my life." She said, "Well, you jump; you're eagle to begin
with; your not a chicken." So he made his first jump and flopped his
wings; didn't do too good, but he got off the ground. That's the way we do; we
accept God by faith by the written Word. (Now, watch again how he
brings us back to the doctrinal thought again). There's
something in there (See?), that Eternal Life, you were predestinated to it.
His grandpa and grandma were eagles; he was a eagle all the way back. Eagle
don't mix with other things. He's not a hybrid at all; he's a eagle.
Notice this point he is
making, He says, "Eagles don't mix with
other things". Now, remember, when he spoke the doctrinal
point, he said, Here we are formed to the Word
image to be a partaker of the Word, feed on the Word, by being predestinated
since the beginning. So he is
talking about the process of how we are formed to the Word Image, and it is
through feeding on the Word itself. Now, let's go back to the story again…
88
Then after you recognize the very Word of God was Eagle Food, then
you left the other thing. You've then been formed into the living image
of the living God. You heard from your theophany. "If this
earthly body be dissolved, we have one waiting."
E-35 EXPLAINING
HEALING AND JAIRUS 54-0216 You are now. Now, we're sons of God. Now, we're seated
together in heavenly places. Now, we have all powers in heavens and the earth.
See? Now, we have it. Not in the millennium, we won't need it then. We got it now. We're... Right now we
are the sons of God. "It does not appear what we shall be, but we know
we'll be like Him." What you are here is a reflection of what you
are somewhere else. "Those who He called, He justifies." Is that
right? "Those who He justified, He
has glorified." Already in the Presence of the Father, we have a glorified
body. Whew! Wasn't that deep? All right. We'll find out whether it's right
or not. "If this earthly tabernacle be dissolved, we have one already
waiting." Is that right? That's right. So right now, and what we are
there, is a reflection. Here, what we
are here, is a reflection of what we are somewhere else. So if your deeds
are evil, you know where it comes from. You know where your other body's a
waiting.
Notice
he says, Then after you recognize the very Word of God was Eagle Food, then
you left the other thing. You've then been formed into the living image
of the living God. You heard from your theophany. "If this
earthly body be dissolved, we have one waiting."
And again he said, when a man has been predestinated to Eternal Life, he hears
that true ring, scream of God, nothing can keep him from it…
Nothing, let's spell it, so
I know you got it. N.O.T.H.I.N.G But
what if you have not heard from your theophany? What if you are not
predestinated to eternal Life? Then what about that? What about those who are
not predestined to hear and understand, will they stay with it? I don’t think so.
JOHN 6:22 ¶ The day following, when the people which
stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat there,
save that one whereinto his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not
with his disciples into the boat, but [that] his disciples were gone away
alone; 23 (Howbeit there came other
boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they did eat bread, after that
the Lord had given thanks:) 24 When the people therefore saw that Jesus was not
there, neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum,
seeking for Jesus. 25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea,
they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither? 26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily,
I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did
eat of the loaves, and were filled.
Jesus wasn't impressed by
their church attendance. He knew their real motives, was not to hear the doctrine
and be transformed by it, but they came for the loaves and fishes. How often we
find in church people coming for the wrong motives. They come to be seen, or
they come because they have a title, or because they are looked up to, or
because the church has a good meal for them after the service. All the wrongs
reasons to come.
Well, let's see what Jesus
tells these people, as we continue our reading.
He says, JOHN 6:27 Labour not
for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting
life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father
sealed. Meat that endures unto everlasting Life? Yes! You are what
you eat! As brother Branham said, Then after you
recognize the very Word of God was Eagle Food, then you left the other thing.
You've then been formed into the living image of the living God. You
heard from your theophany. "If this earthly body be dissolved, we have
one waiting."
JOHN 6:28 ¶ Then said they unto him, What shall we do,
that we might work the works of God? Notice, they just didn't get it. He just told them
not to concern themselves with the meat the perishes, but the meat which
endures unto eternal life. The meat that stays with you, the meat that clings
to your n\bones so to speak, the meat that adds cell upon cell, word upon word.
And yet they turn right back to works. JOHN 6:28 ¶ Then said they unto
him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? 29 Jesus answered
and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he
hath sent.
But, oh if I can just be the
Sunday school teacher. Or if I can just be the youth minister, or if I can just
be in the choir, then I will be able to say, Lord, Lord, did I not sing in your
name, and in your name taught little children, and in your name sone many
wonderful works? But that isn't it! He rebukes the works program in Matthew 7 and says, "depart from me, I never knew you."
Now, back to John 6:30 They said therefore unto him, What sign
shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work? 31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert;
as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Hint, hint,
hint.
Ut Jesus didn't take their
hint. 32Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I
say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth
you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down
from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. For the bread of god is
He, a person, don't you get it? 34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore
give us this bread. They still didn't get it, they still thought
they could talk him into a free meal. But by this time Jesus was getting a
little tired of their churchy-anity. 35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that
cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never
thirst. 36 But I said unto you, That ye
also have seen me, and believe not.
There you go. Notice He
let's them have it right there. He is tired of the games they were playing with
Him. He knew the reason they came to his meetings. It wasn't for the bread of
life, the Word of God, but they came for the loaves and fishes. And so he tells
them right straight forward, You do not believe period. Then he lays out the doctrine.
He tells them of election and predestination.
JOHN 6:37 All that the
Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out. 38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will
of him that sent me. 39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that
of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up
again at the last day.
40 And this is the
will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him,
may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
Notice he tells them,
"Hey! Look! I know the will of the Father, and this is what it is!
But do you think they will listen? Now,
these people are without excuse. They have already seen the Loaves and fishes
multiplied, and they really liked that trick. Well, that's what they thought of
it, for had they really thought it was god in their midst performing those
things, they would not have been so callous. They would have been face down and
prostrate in reverent fear before Him. So that is why I say, they thought it
was a nice trick, in fact they liked it so much, they wanted him to do it
again, but Jesus was not going to put on
a show. And so he told them they were a bunch of unbelievers. And they got mad…
And what did they do?
41 The Jews then murmured
at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven. The word murmur means to mutter, grumble, say anything against in a low
tone, hence of those who confer secretly together, of those who discontentedly
complain.
Now, this is the same thing
Cain did when God told Him that his
sacrifice was not acceptable.
GENESIS 4:4 And Abel, he also
brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had
respect unto Abel and to his offering: 5 But unto Cain and to his offering he
had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. 6 ¶ And the LORD said unto Cain, Why art thou
wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? 7
If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not
well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee [shall be] his desire, and thou
shalt rule over him.
God didn't respect Cain's
sacrifice because it was out of season, but God gave Cain an opportunity to save
face and he blew it. Cain wasn't interested in doing what was right, he was
interested in doing it his own way. And so did these people that murmured at
Jesus.
And look at the sort of things
they began to do. They began to say, Who does he think he is, why we know where
he came from. 42 And they said, Is not this Jesus,
the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he
saith, I came down from heaven? 43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them,
Murmur not among yourselves. (quit your complaining, and
talking behind my back) 44 No man can come to me,
except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the
last day. And isn't He the same yesterday, today and forever? And if He is still here, won’t the people
respond to the flesh he is using the same way they responded to Him back there
in the same way? Didn't he say,
whatsoever you do unto the least of these MY little Ones you have done it unto
me?
Let's read on… 45 It is written in
the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that
hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me. 46 Not that any man
hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father. 47
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
48 I am that bread of life. 49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness,
and are dead. 50 This is the bread
which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from
heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread
that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. 52
The Jews therefore strove among themselves, (They entered
into a war of words, and began quarreling among themselves) saying, How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat? Notice,
now they began to attack his doctrine.
At first they attacked him as a man, and
said, we know who you are, we know you were conceived out of wedlock, the son
of Mary and Joseph. But now after he
rebuked them for fussing and murmuring, they now turn on the war of words and
begin to attack his teaching. But did
Jesus apologize for the words he used? I think not. He just gave them a little
more to chew on.
JOHN 6:53 Then Jesus said
unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son
of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 54 Whoso eateth my flesh,
and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last
day. 55 For my flesh is meat indeed,
and my blood is drink indeed. 56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my
blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father hath sent me, and
I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. 58 This is that bread which came down from
heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this
bread shall live for ever.
JOHN 6:59 These things said
he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. 60 ¶ Many therefore of his disciples, when they
had heard [this], said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
Now, did this turn the
bleeding heart of Jesus to become suddenly more compassionate? I don’t think so. Let's see what happens.
JOHN 6:61 When Jesus knew
in himself that his disciples murmured at it, (At what? At the hard things
he was saying) When Jesus knew in himself
that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend
you? (did He stop and say, Oh, I'm sorry that you are so offended,
please forgive me…. No, he said, Doth this offend
you? Do you want something that will really offend you. I'll give it
to you if that's what you want. Since you seem to get offended so easily, I'll
give you even more to get offended by. And so he gives them a slam dunk. You
know, Jesus was a kind of in your face sort of guy. He didn’t back off of his
stand for nothing. He stood vigilant. Because he knew who he was and He knew he
was only doing what God his Father had shown him to do. So he gives them
another dose.
62 [What] and if
ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? 63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh
profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and
[they] are life. Now, watch how he takes the fight right back to them. Oh, he would have
been a great boxer. Once ha has you on the ropes, he just keeps coming and
coming and coming, until they are happy to leave him. And don't you think
that's what the whole altercation was about to begin with. He knew those who
were his and he knew these people who were only interested in the loaves and
fishes were not those that the Father had given him. So he let's them have it
once more. 64
But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the
beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.
Now, to a Jew that was about
the lowest thing you could say. And I think that is about the same with those
who believe this message too. To be called an unbeliever or a make-believer is
about as low as you can get. 65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can
come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. In other
words, "hey guys, it's not up to me, If God didn't ordain you to it,
then I don't want you hanging around." You know you've got a pretty
tough talking older brother, and he don't lay down for no-one. And so what was
the result of this tough talk?
66 From that
[time] many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Now, you would have thought
that Jesus would have had compassion and said, Oh, don't go, don't go! But not
our older brother. No, in fact he turned to those closest to him and, …67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? (Now,
I think he was a little mad don't you. I think he was just a little worked up,
If he did that today, everyone would say, "man that guy is mean
spirited".) But Jesus knew those God had given to him to watch out for their
souls would not turn away, no matter how hot the kitchen got. And so Peter said
those most notable and quotable words, 68 Then Simon
Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal
life. 69 And we believe and are sure that
thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.
Now, if that were you or me
and we had just had it out with the make believers like Jesus did, and after
they had turned their backs and left him, we would have been thankful to hear
what Peter said. That was quite a compliment. That was quite a revelation right
in the heat of battle. And yet it still didn't cool Jesus temper. No sir, he
turned and burned a whole right through each one of them and then He said, I
know that one of you is a devil. Sheeew!
70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you
twelve, and one of you is a devil? Oh,
man that stings. What more could Peter say, and yet Jesus is still upset.
And why do you think He was
so upset? Because he just got tired of the people's wrong motives, and their
murmuring and complaining all the time. He didn't mind the feeding, but when
they began to complain and murmur about it, and want to have it their way, that
was it. Then they called him names because he wasn't doing it their way. So He
just got tired of the whole mess, and he let the fur fly. But don’t lose sight
of the fact that the Word of God is a separator. Remember, brother Branham
said, Then after you recognize the very Word of God
was Eagle Food, then you left the other thing.
LEADING OF THE
SPIRIT 55-0807E E-6 Many of you
people in selecting your ministers to come to your pulpit, you select the young
fellow who's just out of school, who's smart and witty, a social mixer. God
don't want a mixer; He wants a separator. God wants something that's... See?
And you choose him, because a lot of times he's very smooth. He's kind. Like...
God don't choose men like that.
ABRAHAM 56-1208
E-22 And now, when God called
Abraham, him being seventy-five years old, and He said, "Separate yourself
from your kindred." It's strange how we change that today. God called for
separation. We call for mixers. That's right. The people when they're choosing
their pastor, you that do so. Oh, they want a little slick fellow, you know, that'll
take a sociable drink and not condemn smoking and a few of these things here, a
good guy that'll mix with the crowd, but God wants separators. God calls for a
total separation from the things of the world. "Come out from among
them," the Bible says, "and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and I
will receive you." See? Not a mixer, a separator... The Holy Ghost spoke,
"Separate Me Paul and Barnabas to the work." See? A separation, God
segregates His people, the right from the wrong. Notice. Now, Abraham was to
separate himself and to sojourn in a strange land that he knew not of. Isn't
that a beautiful picture today? When God by election called you to His Beloved,
then immediately God speaks to you to separate yourself from the old crowd, the
pool room, the stitch-and-sew parties where they tell jokes and carry on--a
separation.
FEAST OF THE
TRUMPETS 64-0719M 32-1 But you know where it's got? God
said, "Separate Me and Paul and Barnabas (That's right.) for the
work..." Separate--God's a separator, not a mixer. The church wants a good mixer today that can
let them wear bathing suits, and shorts, and everything else, and get out and
carry on like that. But God said, "Separate Me." Separate yourself
from the world.